


happy hunger games

by fakeheaux



Category: Hawkeye (Comics), Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Hunger Games Setting, Archery, Inspired by The Hunger Games, POV Kate Bishop, Protective Clint Barton
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-07-24 22:38:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16184627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fakeheaux/pseuds/fakeheaux
Summary: hunger games au snippets told out of order as i write scenes because this will never be a complete work lmao





	1. Training

**Author's Note:**

> so i took many liberties with this...kate isn't her usual sassy and loveable self, i actually noticed she's a bit of an asshole in this so sorry kate. in the movies, the tributes all wear the same gear in the training center, but in the books each district has its own training uniform so i went with that. uhhhhhhh yeah this is bad soz
> 
> tommy is known around district 12 as speed because he's always running away from peacekeepers. he calls kate 'twelve' mockingly at one point but they're from the same district so it doesn't mean anything
> 
> kate's trick with the arrow is supposed to mimic the whole 'arrow shooting through another one' but since the tributes are given metal arrows to train with kate's arrow just sticks to the first one instead

Kate takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly through her mouth. She draws the arrow. Holds it against her cheek to keep it steady. Aims. Fires. There’s a metallic _shing_ as the arrow makes its mark, and the room goes silent as everyone realizes what Kate’s just done.

The arrow never hit the target, instead embedding itself into the end of Eden’s arrow. It wavers, then falls to the floor with a clang.

Inhaling shakily, Kate drops her bow arm, looking around the room at all the stunned faces. Even the Gamemakers are standing up, approaching the invisible forcefield keeping them safe from harm. The tributes, the Gamemakers, the Trainers, they’re all staring at Kate or her fallen arrow. There’s an awkward silence, as everyone in the room decides whether they hate, love, or are terrified of Kate, until Speed, ever the asshole, starts to clap.

“Very nice, Twelve,” he says mockingly. “Maybe Clint should look out; you’re a shoo-in for the next Hawkeye.” Crossing the room, he picks up Kate’s arrow and tosses it to her. She catches it easily. “Show off.”

The tease eases the tension in the room, and everyone slowly goes back to what they were doing, murmuring about Kate’s feat. Kate huffs a breath, checking the arrowhead and laughing when she sees it’s sharp as ever. “Thanks,” she murmurs to Speed when he’s close enough.

He nods, glancing around them and pretending to adjust his sleeves. “I wasn’t joking about you being a showoff, Kate. You pull another stunt like that and we’ll be the first to go in the bloodbath.” At Kate’s confused look, he shakes his head, laughing. “You really are clueless, huh? We’re a team to them; anyone who wears the same number are. If you’re not a Career, you’re a threat to a Career. Come on, Katie, it’s basic knowledge.”

Speed walks off before she can answer, and she’s left staring at Jane, numb. “Don’t call me Katie,” she mumbles, but he’s too far away to hear her. Eden glances at her, sizing her up, but turns away to talk with her District mate. Catching herself staring, Kate clears her throat to herself and draws again.

-

“Tribute!” someone calls. Kate turns, surprised. The room is empty; she’d been so focused on repeating her trick earlier she hadn’t even noticed. She’s lucky she even managed it, really. “That was a neat trick you pulled.”

It’s a Gamemaker––no, _the_ Gamemaker. Tony Stark, Head Gamemaker, who only stepped up to the position after the last Head was killed in a ‘freak accident’ involving one of his mutts. Stark hasn’t even been on the Maker team for two years, but rumors of his genius have made it even to District Twelve.

Kate isn’t impressed. She hangs up her bow and quiver, nodding. “Sure. Are you even supposed to be talking to me?”

Stark grins, shrugging. “Even if I’m not, what are they gonna do? Kill me?” His eyes twinkle mischievously, like he knows something Kate doesn’t. Which, in all honesty, he probably does. “Listen, I just wanted to say, you know. Good luck in the Games. Or, no, uh, _may the odds be ever in your favor_ , right?” His grin grows. “Be careful out there. I’m uh, I’m not supposed to bet on any of the Tributes, but after your little stunt today? Geez, you could take a nap during your scoring session and I would still give you a twelve.” Laughing, he scratches behind his ear. “Anyway, uh. I also wanted to say, you know. Be careful out there. I can’t tell you what to expect, other than, you know, _death_ , but I want you to be careful. Hold out for as long as you can, alright, kid? And––”

“Stark!” one of the other Gamemakers calls. “Come on, what are you doing?”

Sighing, Stark waves the Gamemaker off. “I’m coming, Hank, don’t worry about it.” He turns back to Kate. “Old fart. Anyway, uh. Good luck, again. And make sure you last as long as possible, alright?”

“I won’t need to last,” Kate says, crossing her arms. “I’m gonna win.”

Stark grimaces. “Ah. Yes, of course. Good luck...with that.” He nods awkwardly. “Have a nice day.”

He follows the Gamemaker out of the Training Center, and Kate lets out a breath she barely realized she was holding. The Center is empty, and she’s surprised Speed didn’t let her know that Training was over for today. Maybe she really did irritate him with the arrow earlier. She rushes out of the room, down the hall and into the elevator, smacking the button for her floor harder than necessary. Before the doors shut, a boy slides in smoothly. Kate hadn’t even noticed him waiting in the hallway. She better up her game before she ends up dead in the Arena.

“Hi,” the boy says, smiling kindly. His training suit is blue and red, meaning he’s from District 3. A pity for him, really. Technology is no place for warriors. They tend to go pretty quickly in the games.

Kate nods warily. “Hi. Were you waiting for me?”

The boy’s smile drops. “What? Oh, no, uh, I had to pee, so I had to go back to the Center. I saw Tony Stark talking to you; did you do something wrong?” He blushes, smiling sheepishly. “I’m Peter, by the way.”

“Right,” Kate says slowly. “Kate. Uh, no, I didn’t do anything wrong. He was just impressed by the thing I did with the arrow earlier.” She squints, confused. “And he wished me luck like, four times, which was weird, but. I didn’t do anything.”

Peter laughs. “You know, Tony Stark isn’t very well liked here in the Capital, but he’s a legend back in Three.”

Kate frowns. “Not well liked? Why wouldn’t the Head Gamemaker be well liked?”

Shrugging, Peter glances at the elevator doors, which are sliding open for his floor. “Oh, uh, you know, just cause he’s spoken out against the brutality of the Games a couple times. I’ll see you tomorrow, alright? Cool trick with the arrow, by the way. Bye!” He waves, jogging onto his floor.

Stunned, Kate stares at the elevator doors as it rises, worrying at the purple material of her training suit. What Peter just said makes no sense. Maybe he was messing with her. She’s still thinking about it when the doors open up onto her floor, where Clint is waiting for her with his arms crossed. He looks upset, which makes no sense because Kate didn’t do anything wrong.

She doesn’t think so, at least.

“Why were you showing off in the Training Center?” he asks, glaring.

Rolling her eyes, Kate ignores him, walking over to the huge icebox in the corner. She pulls it open to grab a drink, and her hand is barely out of the box when it’s slammed shut, Clint appearing behind it.

“What do you want, Clint?” she sighs.

“Why were you showing off in the Training Center?” he repeats. “We agreed you and Tommy would hide your abilities until the Games started so that you would be able to surprise the Careers with your strengths.”

Kate takes a long sip from her bottle, furrowing her brows at Clint. When she’s done, she asks, “What exactly is Speed’s ability, again? Other than running away.”

“This isn’t a joke, Katie!” Clint snaps. Kate freezes. “You are about to be thrown into a cage and made to fight to the death; this is not the time for your little remarks.”

Humming curiously, Kate places the bottle on the counter. “Why do you care, exactly? You’ve been mentoring kids who were as good as dead for almost a decade, and you never seemed to care before. If I remember correctly, actually, you’ve been a sad drunk since you won your Games. Why am I any different from those other poor kids?”

Clint grits his teeth, staring her down. “I care about you, Katie. I care about and I care about Tommy. I care about every kid who has ever passed through this damned building, and I will continue to care about every kid who comes after you. The alcohol isn’t because I _don’t_ care, Katie. It’s because I care _too much_.”

Kate nods. “Right. Yeah, no, of course. I’m sure caring too much about those kids really helped them in the Arena. I’ll be sure to let them know when I see them.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gross!
> 
> uhhh in the books/movies the tributes all wear the same thing in the arena and it's mostly the same here but their shirts have their district emblem on the chest like a logo and they're all a different color, representative of their district. for (hopefully) obvious reasons, twelve is a deep purple, three is red with blue lettering. so it's gonna be the same outfit as the first movie only with the logos. ya dig?
> 
> sorry for this

"I'm not forming an alliance with a Career, are you kidding me?" Kate snaps, pulling her arm away from Peter. "Listen, you're fast, and you're strong, and you can climb like nobody's business, but if I form an alliance with you I will be an even bigger target to the other Careers than I already am. Go away."

Peter smiles awkwardly. "You know I'm not actually a Career, right?" he asks. Kate stares at him, silent. "District Three doesn't support the Capitol as loudly as the others, so we're not. You know. A Career district. I'm like you."

Kate gapes at him, shocked, but she gets over it quickly enough to hit him squarely in the arm. He cries out, pulling back and giving her a wounded look. "Why didn't you say something before?" she snaps. "I've been calling you a Career and being  _pretty_ rude to you for, what, two weeks now? Come on, dude."

Shrugging, Peter rubs over his arm. "I dunno, I didn't really think you were being serious about it all. Anyway, do you think we could start working together now? Considering...you know."

Pressing her lips together, Kate nods. Yeah, she knows. Tommy joined the Careers in the first hour, doing the exact opposite of the advice he gave Kate, and she hasn't seen him since the third day. They're already on week two, and there's eight of them left. The audience must be getting bored, but the arena is so big, with so many places that are perfect for hunkering down and waiting out the fight, that there's really no way to get any action. Unless, of course, the Gamemakers intervene, which is exactly how Peter and Kate ran into each other.

Sighing, Kate holds out a hand. "We will work together until there are four people left, including us. Once that cannon goes off, we go our separate ways and we do what we need to to survive. Deal?"

Smiling happily, Peter takes her hand and shakes it firmly. "Deal." He seems way too excited about this, but Kate knows how much crap he's been through the past two weeks so she'll let it slide. As long as he's not too irritating. "So, is there anything you want me to do? I don't wanna be in your way, you know, but I also don't wanna do nothing." He's still got that little smile on his face, and Kate feels her resolve soften.

"We've got about an hour or so before the sun goes down, so we should try to find some food," she says. "I've been hiding in an office down by the cornucopia, since no one else seems to be out there, but I've been getting food from the market out along the perimeter."

Peter nods, expression serious. "Less traps, right?" Kate nods. "I wonder why they put us in something so...mundane. How is a small town supposed to be threatening to us?"

"Maybe it's a threat," Kate says, leading them out of the alley they've been crouched in. "To us, to the people back home. 'You're not safe from the Games just because you're not in the arena' type of thing. Or they just couldn't think of anything better."

They emerge onto the main street quietly, and Kate points out the building she's been camping in since the first night. It was through luck that she found it, considering the Careers, no matter the year, are notorious for commandeering the cornucopia and setting up a rough perimeter around their territory. This time, however, since the cornucopia is sitting atop a squat building, the Careers have been living in there and sending out a sentry. Once Kate is sure Peter knows which part of the office they're to rendezvous at if they get separated, she leads him down the street, ducking as they run to a different alley she's used to travel the small town they've been dropped in.

"Maybe they're trying to give us a false sense of security," Peter says after a while. "Everything here is just like home, for the most part; what if it's just to get us to put our guards down?" He crouches behind Kate as she stops next to the market she's been raiding since they got here. She's run into others once or twice, but they were young, around twelve, and she didn't have it in her to take them out. Instead, she just gave them advice about hiding and waiting out the rest of them. Of the three she ran into, only one of them is still alive. Some girl named Doreen. Looks a bit like a squirrel, if you ask Kate.

Not answering, Kate holds up a small compact mirror and holds it around the corner of the market, trying to see if anyone is approaching the entrance from the other side. When the coast comes up clear, she leads Peter out, and they sprint the short distance to the doors. They slide open quietly, closing as soon as they've stepped inside. It's quiet, but Kate draws an arrow just to be safe.

There's obviously been some sort of altercation in here; some shelves are tipped over, their contents spread out in a mess all over the floor, and underneath a pile on cereal boxes is a dried pool of blood. Kate swallows down a gag, and turns to Peter.

"You go get whatever it is you need," she says. "I'm gonna do the same, but we'll meet back here in ten. Don't take more than you can carry safely. There should be some bags somewhere that you can use." Peter nods and darts off, using his little web thingies to grab whatever he can't reach on higher shelves. She'll have to ask him about those later, but in the meantime Kate keeps an eye on him and an ear on everything else as she grabs her own things, moving as quickly as she can. It's hard, trying to divide her attention between three things, but she's been to this market enough times that she knows where her usual grabs are by heart.

She's up on her toes trying to reach a can of soup when there's a crash, and she swears quietly, ducking low. Setting down her haul quietly, she draws an arrow and nocks it. She grits her teeth and swings out from the aisle. Tommy stands there, a knife to Peter's throat, blood matting his hair to his skull. He looks pissed off.

"Sup, Speed?" Kate asks, voice casual despite her hummingbird heartbeat. "I was wondering where you'd gotten around to."

 


End file.
